Saturday, March 16, 2013

Anthrax cover the classic Boston track, “Smokin’,” on their new eight-track EP, “Anthems.”

The project pays tribute to the classic songs by some of Anthrax's favorite bands from the 1970s.

“Smokin’” features a keyboard solo by Fred Mandel after drummer Charlie Benante admitted none of the band could play the instrument well enough.

“You’ll always hear Boston blasting out of our dressing rooms or our bus,” Benante told Music Radar. “It’s one of those timeless records that doesn’t have a bad track on it. It’s almost like a greatest-hits album. When I hear it, I think back to being young, it’s the summertime, and people are driving by in their cars crankin’ Boston.”

“Smokin’” originally appeared on Boston’s 1976 self-titled monster debut album; it was certified 17x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2003. The album is the second best-selling debut of all time in the US, after Guns N' Roses' “Appetite for Destruction.”

Set for release in North America on March 19 and on March 22 in Europe, “Anthems'” tracklisting also features Rush's “Anthem”, Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak',AC/DC's 'TNT', Journey's 'Keep On Runnin', as well as the album version and a special remix of Anthrax's “Crawl”, from the band's 2011 album, “Worship Music.”